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Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich beat yesterday’s deadline for the voter-generated video debate at 10Questions.com. He answered nine of the 10 questions, skipping the one on the size of government (as did fellow Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee.)

The No. 1 question as chosen by 10Questions users focuses on “network neutrality,” a term used to describe the push for a government mandate on communications network owners to treat high-speed Internet content equally.

“We must make sure that the Internet is protected from domination by any particular interest group,” Kucinich said, “and the financial interest groups who would want to create a two-tiered system on the Internet … that kind of a condition will not be tolerated under a Kucinich administration.

Here’s a link-heavy guide to the other nine questions and Kucinich’s responses:

• Is America a theocracy? (Answer)
• Should the federal government allow medical marijuana? (Answer)
• What will you, as president, do to protect Americans from wiretaps without warrants? (Answer)
• Would you agree to campaign reforms designed to take well-funded special interests out of politics? (Answer)
• Will you pledge to abolish “corporate personhood“? (Answer)
• How would you make the government more transparent and increase media and public access to the White House? (Answer)
• What will you do to fix our election system, and should Election Day be changed? (Answer)
• How much do you pledge to reduce the size of government in your first term? (No answer)
• How do you defend the existence of the “unconstitutional” two-party system? (Answer)

Categories: Dennis Kucinich, 10Questions

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When it comes to the war in Iraq, Rep. Dennis Kucinich touts himself as the only Democratic presidential candidate who has opposed it from the beginning. His campaign has now released a video that makes the case by showing footage of the Ohioan’s critical comments about the war dating back to 2002.

Categories: Ohio, Iraq, Presidency 2008, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Dennis Kucinich

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The House yesterday narrowly passed an emergency spending bill that would continue funding U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq but also require the withdrawal of most U.S. troops by Sept. 1, 2008.

The Washington Post reports that the vote, which divided Democrats into factions that either wanted to end the war now rather than wait 18 months or not impose any conditions on funding troops, was 218-212. All but two Republicans voted against the measure; 14 Democrats also voted “no.”

Republicans also decried the addition of money for pet projects in lawmakers’ districts.

President Bush vowed to veto the bill. He scolded Democrats for their “act of political theater” in passing a bill that “has no chance of becoming law” and that would “substitute their judgment for that of our military commanders on the ground in Iraq.”

“The Democrats have sent their message; now it’s time to send their money,” Bush said.

Here are video excerpts of the floor debate:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.: “This war is a grotesque mistake. … Rather than sending more troops into the chaos that is the Iraqi civil war, we must be focused on bringing the war to an end.”

Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio: “The benchmarks I see in this bill are intended to bring about failure, to bring about stumbles. And if you look at all of the handcuffs, all of the hoops and hurdles that are in here, I believe there’s only one outcome … and that outcome is failure.”

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.: “We’re gonna make a difference with this bill. We’re gonna bring those troops home, we’re gonna start changing the direction of this great country.”

Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas: “We can’t tie the hands of the guys on the ground with timelines or benchmarks. And worse, we shouldn’t be using an emergency troop spending bill as a way of to finance the political gimmickery of special-interest projects. It’s just exasperating that the Democrat leaders have turned the emergency troop spending bill into a pork-barrel project giveaway.”

Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa.: The bill “leads our way out of Iraq; it leads the way to rebuild our overextended Army; it leads the way to win the war on terror.”

Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo.: “[T]he bill brought before us today isn’t written with victory in mind. It’s prevailing tone is one of defeat, and it’s abiding premise is that America’s mission in Iraq is over and troops’ continued status there is without merit.”

Pelosi’s office posted several more video excerpts of Democratic floor speeches to YouTube.

After the vote, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat and 2008 presidential candidate who has been a strong opponent of the Iraq war from the start, lamented that the House voted to continue funding the war. he posted an online video appeal to voters, urging them to organize “a powerful civic response” and “insist that our nation take a new direction now in Iraq.”

Categories: Military, Producer's Picks, Iraq, White House, Presidency 2008, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Budget, Dennis Kucinich, Sam Johnson

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“This is a fight inside the Democratic Party. … But let me tell you, our party has been the party of the insurance people when it’s come to health care, and that’s going to change when I’m the nominee.”

Categories: Ohio, Health, Presidency 2008, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Dennis Kucinich

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Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, the underdog of underdogs in the 2008 presidential race, cast himself as “a president with no strings” while speaking at a Carson City, Nev., forum for the Democratic candidates. Jeff Jarvis of PrezVid couldn’t resist the opportunity to put Kucinich’s performance to music, casting him first as Pinocchio and then as Peter Pan.

And here’s an oldie but a goodie — a shot of one of Kucinich’s presidential rivals, John Edwards, primping at length on camera:

The video mash-up, to the tune of “I Feel Pretty” from “West Side Story,” dates back to November, but it is getting attention again because Edwards talked about it in an interview where he said YouTube is good for democracy:

Categories: Ohio, Presidency 2008, John Edwards, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Friday Fun, Dennis Kucinich

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